CUPE BC calls on province to bring back funding for daytime cleaning
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PRINCE GEORGE – With students returning to B.C. classrooms, the union representing over 30,000 school support workers is calling for additional measures to reduce absences due to COVID-19 and other illnesses, in particular adding daytime cleaning.
In the face of the Omicron variant and the Public Health Officer advising school districts to prepare for functional closures, CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta says steps like bolstering daytime custodial service can minimize disruptions to in-person learning.
“I join CUPE’s school support members in welcoming students back to our schools. The work our members do is vital to protecting these clean and healthy spaces for our students,” says Ranalletta. “Very few schools in B.C.’s K-12 system have daytime custodians. Regular daytime cleaning could greatly reduce other illness and alleviate pressures on our school system already dealing with the surge in COVID cases. But these vital services are missing from the vast majority of schools.”
In addition to adding regular daytime cleaning of all school environments to reduce school staff absences due to other common illnesses (i.e., flu and colds), CUPE recommends emphasizing other measures that can reduce staff absences and mitigate the chances of functional closures.
